G20 summit: Delhi Metro anticipates rise in footfall, introduces special cards for Sept 4 to 13

Anticipating increased passenger footfall for the G20 Summit, the Delhi Metro will sell 'Tourist Smart Cards' through dedicated counters at 36 stations from September 4-13, officials said. These cards will be available in two categories -- one-day and three-day validity -- offering "unlimited rides" in the metro network.

The Tourist Smart Cards are available on regular days too but, in view of the G20 Summit, dedicated counters have been opened to sell these cards for a period of 10 days from Monday, a senior official said. The G20 Leaders' Summit is slated to take place in New Delhi from September 9-10.

The dedicated counters have been provided to "facilitate G20 delegates and international visitors who might be interested in exploring the prominent tourist places of the capital city as they arrive in Delhi, owing to the upcoming G20 Summit," the official said.

The one-day card will be available for Rs 200 while the three-day card will cost Rs 500. This amount also includes a refundable security deposit of Rs 50, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said.

The 36 stations where these cards will be sold through dedicated counters include Kashmere Gate, Chandni Chowk, Chawri Bazar, New Delhi, Rajiv Chowk, Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat, Udyog Bhawan, Lok Kalyan Marg, Supreme Court, ITO, Hauz Khas, Nehru Place, Kalkaji Mandir, Akshardham and Terminal 1 IGI Airport.

Besides unlimited rides, these cards are of great benefit to tourists as they can seamlessly travel in the entire network from the first train to the last service available for the day, the officials said. "There are no penalties or surcharge levied on the use of Tourist Smart Cards on account of instances like entry or exit mismatch, overstay in system, overstepping etc," the DMRC said.

Delhi Metro, India's largest metro network, ranked among one of the largest metro systems in the world is well connected to almost all the prominent tourist destinations in the city such as Red Fort, Jama Masjid, Akshardham Temple, Kalkaji Temple, Qutub Minar, to name a few.

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Tourists can seamlessly reach these tourist places by travelling on various corridors of the Delhi Metro by using these cards. Tourists can also download the 'Delhi Metro Rail' app for more details on the network to plan their journeys. The app also includes a dedicated section on the home page under 'Tour Guide' where they can find the list of all stations and tourist places nearby, the officials said.

Tourist Smart Cards are also available at all metro stations (except Airport Express Line) across the network. Anyone wanting to explore the city can avail of these cards from the stations at any time during the day, they said.